Yasser Alwan Collection
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Abstract
This fascinating collection of vernacular photography presents a great variety of over 3,500 images depicting daily life in Egypt from the decades before the revolution of 1952, from formal studio portraits to amateur family photos of Egyptians, as well as other Arabs, Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Italians and Western expats who lived in or visited Egypt. Yasser Alwan is an independent photographer based in Cairo. His photographs have been exhibited in Cairo, New York, Frankfurt, San Francisco, London, Canterbury and Abu Dhabi. New York University Abu Dhabi hosted a retrospective of his work during the 2011-12 academic year. He taught photography at various institutions including the German University in Cairo
Biographical / Historical
Yasser Alwan is an independent photographer based in Cairo. His photographs have been exhibited in Cairo, New York, Frankfurt, San Francisco, London, Canterbury and Abu Dhabi. New York University Abu Dhabi hosted a retrospective of his work during the 2011-12 academic year. He is currently teaching photography at the German University in Cairo.
Arrangement
The collection has been processed as it was received.
Scope and Contents
The Yasser Alwan collection includes more than 2000 personal, family and studio photographs and offers a varied and often surprising view of the ethnic, cultural and social diversity that characterized Egyptian society in the first half of the twentieth century.
Photographer Yasser Alwan started visiting various flea markets and book merchants in Cairo in the mid-1990s, purchasing old prints and negatives. Most of these date back to the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, though there are also a significant number from earlier years. The majority of the photographs were sold individually, but there are also groups of photographs discarded together and a small number of albums.
This fascinating collection of vernacular photography presents a great variety of images depicting daily life in Egypt from the decades before the revolution of 1952, from formal studio portraits to amateur family photos of Egyptians, as well as other Arabs, Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Italians and Western expats who lived in or visited Egypt. There are also photographs of trips abroad taken by Egyptians, as well as a collection of postcards dating from the early 20th century through to the 1960s.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Yasser Alwan are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from repository. Please contact Akkasah at akkasah@nyu.edu
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Yasser Alwan Collection; AD_MC_002; box number; folder number or item identifier; Akkasah Center for Photography, New York University Abu Dhabi.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Yasser Alwan, 2006. The accession number associated with this gift is 2014.002
Custodial History
Akkasah, the Center for Photography at NYU Abu Dhabi, acquired the collection in August 2014.